COIMBATORE: By collecting maximum possible 10 points on Day 1 of the 20th JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship 2017, Mizoram’s Lalhruaizela booked the ticket to the Road to MotoGP in Spain. He finished second in the third round on Saturday. The 15-year-old biker from Aizawl now has a tally of 48 points, a full 12 points more than his statemate Lalnunsanga.
With no surprise, the Euro JK 17 was dominated by the defending champion Anindith Reddy as he clocked 15:48.387 in 15 laps, followed by Akash Gowda and Ashwin Datta. Though he was penalised by 10 seconds for a false start, it didn’t affect him, as he topped the table by a clear 15 seconds. In the first race too he suffered the same for overtaking during a yellow flag, thus finishing fifth.
Starting a solitary point behind Vishnu Prasad, Hyderabad’s Anindith showed his speed and class to amass 15 points. He took full advantage of the reverse grid in Race 2, as he began on Pole 2, to win the race and the maximum possible 10 points. It still fetched him 5 points and the advantage in the day’s last race.
The Chennai lad Vishnu, on the other hand, had a disastrous run as he failed to finish both the races, hence returning empty-handed with no points. It allowed Mumbai’s Nayan Chatterjee to move up by turning in third in Race 1. He, however, couldn’t finish Race 2 that in turn hurt his chances of going further to the next level.
The highlight of the day was LGB Formula 4, which saw some fierce overtaking and defending. Even the safety car came out twice, which explicitly suggests the rhythm of the race. Kolhapur’s Chittesh Mandody (Avalanche Racing) regained the upper hand, winning the race in a spectacular way. Tied with Prasad (MSport) at 42 at the start of the day, Chitesh Mandody absorbed pressure well to finish on top.
Prasad pushed him all the way till the end but just couldn’t get past him. He settled for the third position and a useful 6 points to stay in the hunt. Dark Don Racing’s Rohit Khanna finished second, but with just 20 points. He has a lot of catching up to do in the remaining three races. In the Suzuki Gixxer Cup, Chennai’s Joseph Mathew continued his winning run, notching up his fifth straight victory. He is sitting on 50 points now, with the rest of the field nowhere near him.
In the Red Bull Rookie Cup, Jaden Gunawardena topped the chart with a timing of 11:36.318, which is followed by Aizawl’s teen sensation Lalhruaizela, who finished three seconds later to Jaden. The third position was grabbed by Lalnunsanga who was almost in the finishing line with Lalhruaizela, as he clocked 11:39.768. It was a nail-biting finish as they both had a 6 millisecond difference. At the end, Lalhruaizela had 48 points.
Results: Euro JK 17
Race One (15 laps): 1. Ricky Capo (14:38.598); 2. Akash Gowda (14:42.998); 3. Nayan S Chatterjee 14:43.310.
Race Two (15 laps): 1. Anindith Reddy (15:48.387); 2. Akash Gowda (15:53.491); 3. Ashwin Datta (15:54.314).
LGB Formula 4 (15 laps)
1. Chitesh Mandody, Avalanche Racing (20:07.784); 2. Rohit Khanna, Dark Don Racing (20:08.610); 3. Vishnu Prasad, MSport (20:08.744).
Gixxer Cup (10 laps)
1. Joseph Mattew (14:17.037); 2. Malsawmdawngliana (14:17.043); 3. Lalmawipuia (14:20.633).
Red Bull Rookie Cup
1. Jaden Gunawardena (11:36.318); 2. Lalhruaizela (11:39.108); 3. Lalnunsanga (11:39.768).